What is the average cost of running an SMSF?
The latest available statistics from the ATO for the March 2025 quarter estimate the median administration and operating expenses for a self-managed super fund (SMSF) was $4,628. The ATO based these figures on the deductible and non-deductible expenses taken from the lodgement of SMSF annual returns for 2023 and include SMSF auditor fees, management and administrative fees, supervisory levy and other expenses. The ATO identified the median total expenses incurred by an SMSF was $9,297 which made us smile when compared against our wholesale SMSF pricing model.
ASIC held the view that the running costs of an SMSF was $13,900. The SMSF industry refuted this strongly and claim the ATO figures are much more realistic. In accordance with an article in Morningstar, Jonathon Lee from the Solomons Group advised the average accounting fees for an SMSF range from $2,000 to $6,000 which often includes the cost of a non-SMSF accounting firm billing the client along with a wholesale provider such as us charging that firm.
Administration Fees
Administration fees include processing data to prepare the financial statements, annual return and other quarterly tax obligations and ensuring the correct allocation of contributions, benefit payments and rollovers. The administration fees for an SMSF have reduced over a number of years. There are no-frills operators in the industry which leads to reduced cost. However, there is less support and not desirable if your fund has more complex arrangements than cash at bank and listed shares and you have sufficient knowledge and expertise to manoeuvre your way around the complex superannuation and tax rules. Automation and digitisation using products such as Class Super, which we have built our own bespoke automations and toolkit on top, have certainly been a game changer in the SMSF environment leading to reduced administration fees.
Other Expenses
There are other expenses to be considered when running an SMSF which include interest expense where a fund has a Bare Trust/limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) in place, life insurance and TPD premiums and investment expenses (including rental expenses). These expenses are highly variable depending on the circumstances. In accordance with the ATO’s statistics from 2022/23 the median costs in relation to other expenses include:
- $8,084 for insurance premiums
- $19,371 for Australian interest expenses
- $13,135 for overseas interest expenses
- $12,061 for investment expenses
SMSF Australia
Our fees for the administration of an SMSF range from $1,300 + GST for a simple fund to $2,000 + GST for a very complex fund. There are a couple of add-ons for quarterly BAS and actuarial certificates which are on charged at cost from the actuary. We use specialised superannuation Software and set up automatic data feeds with banks and various platform providers and brokers streamlining our data processing so we can keep our value proposition competitive without compromising on communication or quality.